Derivation of endothelial colony forming cells from human pluripotent stem cells

Human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cells and human embryonic stem (hES) cells differentiate into cells of the endothelial lineage, but derivation of cells with human umbilical cord blood endothelial colony forming cell (ECFC)-like properties has not been reported. Here we describe a novel serum- and stromal cell-free ECFC differentiation protocol for the derivation of clinically relevant numbers of ECFCs (> 108) from hiPS and hES cells. We identified NRP-1+CD31+ selected cells that displayed a stable endothelial phenotype exhibiting high clonal proliferative potential, extensive replicative capacity, formation of human vessels that inosculated with host vasculature upon transplantation, but lacking in teratoma formation in vivo. We also identified NRP-1-VEGF165-KDR-mediated activation of KDR as a critical mechanism for the emergence and derivation of ECFCs from hiPS and hES cells. This protocol advances the field by generating highly replicative but stable endothelial cells for use as a potential cell therapy for human clinical disorders. Transcriptome sequencing of undifferentiated day 0 hiPS cells, Day 3 differentiated hiPS-derived mesoderm proginator cells, Day 12 hiPS-derived NRP-1+CD31+ cells, Day 12 H9-hES-derived NRP-1+CD31+ cells and cord blood-derived Endothelial colony forming cells.